A leader tape connected to the end of a magnetic recording tape is used in magnetic recording systems such as audio cassette recorders and video tape recorders to clean stains on heads for recording and reproducing and on guide poles and rollers.
A conventional leader tape has a cleaning layer provided by coating on a support an inorganic pigment dispersed in a binder. Examples of such pigments include alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3), silicone carbide (SiC), chromium oxide (Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3), titanium oxide (TiO.sub.2), red iron oxide (.alpha.-Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3) and silicone oxide (SiO.sub.2). Cleaning tapes have superior capacity with respect to removing stains.
However, they have some undesirable features. For example, they can too strongly abrade and often damage a head and a guide pole as well as a blade used for splicing the leader.
It has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,947 that the surface of a support be matted by sand blasting instead of using an abrasive in order to eliminate the above defects. However, an uneven or matted surface of a leader tape is insufficient for obtaining the necessary cleaning effect. Furthermore, the sand blasting can weaken the leader to the extent that its tear strength is insufficient.
Another known leader tape is comprised of a support having provided thereon a cleaning layer containing an inorganic pigment having a particle size of 0.002 to 4 .mu.m and a binder as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7631/80. This leader tape has a large cleaning effect but the hard inorganic pigment sometimes damages the head when removing stains and the damaged head may also damage the magnetic recording tape, lowering its sensitivity and S/N ratio. When the other side of the leader tape is fixed to a hub with a pin or a nail (in order to wind a magnetic recording tape having the leader tape in an audio or video cassette) the hard inorganic pigment contained in a cleaning layer may cause cuts in the support.